Introduction
In the ever-evolving landscape of business, efficiency and fairness in task distribution are paramount. Especially within sales and customer service teams, ensuring that leads are assigned equitably can be the difference between success and stagnation. This is where the concept of a round robin assignment rule comes into play, a mechanism designed to distribute leads or tasks evenly across team members, preventing overload and ensuring that no one is left out or overwhelmed.
Understanding Round Robin Assignment
At its core, the round robin assignment rule is an elegant yet straightforward method for distributing leads among a designated group of individuals. The process operates much like a circular rotation, where each team member is assigned the next available lead in a sequence. Once every member has received a lead, the cycle begins anew. This approach guarantees that every member of the team gets an equal share of the workload, fostering a sense of fairness and balance.
Imagine a wheel where each spoke represents a team member. As the wheel turns, leads are assigned to each spoke in turn. This systematic rotation ensures that no single team member is burdened with too many leads at once, promoting an environment of equity and shared responsibility.
Why Implement a Round Robin Rule?
The need for a round robin assignment rule is particularly critical in high-paced environments where leads flow in at a rapid rate. Without a structured assignment process, it’s easy for some team members to become overwhelmed while others remain underutilized. This imbalance not only diminishes overall productivity but can also lead to employee dissatisfaction and burnout.
Moreover, by implementing a round robin rule, businesses can eliminate any unconscious bias in lead assignment. Each team member receives an equal opportunity to work on leads, ensuring that assignments are made purely on availability and not influenced by personal preferences or other subjective factors. This level of impartiality is vital in maintaining a harmonious and motivated team.
Setting Up a Round Robin Assignment Rule
Creating a round robin assignment rule might seem daunting at first, but with the right tools and a methodical approach, it can be seamlessly integrated into your workflow.
Begin by identifying the members who will be included in the round robin rotation. This could be your sales team, customer service representatives, or any group of individuals who need to share a workload evenly. It’s essential to ensure that all members are equally capable and ready to handle the leads or tasks assigned to them.
This example will be for Leads, but the same concept can be applied to Case Assignment Rules as well.
A round robin assignment rule allows you to equally distribute new Lead records without having to manually assign them using a rotation as shown below:
- Lead 1 goes to Sales Rep 1
- Lead 2 goes to Sales Rep 2
- Lead 3 goes to Sales Rep 3
- Lead 6 goes to Sales Rep 1 (notice the rotation?)
- Lead 7 goes to Sales Rep 2
- Lead 8 goes to Sales Rep 3
- and so on..
To pull this off in Salesforce you’ll need to create two custom fields on the Lead object. The first is an Auto Number field and the second is a Formula field. You’ll see in a moment how to leverage these two fields to assign Leads.
To create our new fields, go to Setup > App Setup > Customize > Leads > Fields. Slide down the page past the “out of the box” fields until you see the “New” button where you can create a custom field.
In Step 1 of the custom field wizard, pick the data type “Auto Number”
In Step 2
- Field Label: Lead Number
- Display Format: {0}
- Starting Number: 1
- Field Name: Lead_Number
Salesforce assigns a number to this field for each new record created in a sequence (and it’s unique). It cannot be edited by a user. As new records are created the number will increment (i.e. the first Lead is “1”, the next Lead created will get the number “2”, and so on). You will also see a checkbox to tell Salesforce to create a number for existing records. If you need to assign existing records a number, go ahead and check this box. If you leave it blank, only new Lead records will receive a number. Don’t worry that the “Display Format” is only showing one digit in length. It will grow as needed as you get to 10, 100, 1000 etc. Continue through the wizard creating the field.
Next we are going to create a formula field that will take the number generated by Salesforce and assign it a value in a range you specify in the formula.
In Step 1 of the wizard specify a Formula field.
On Step 2 of the wizard
- Field Label: Round Robin ID
- Field Name: Round_Robin_ID
- Formula Return Type: Number
- Options: 0 Decimal Places
In Step 3 you’ll write a formula with the following value:
MOD(VALUE({!Lead_Number__c}) ,3) +1
The MOD function is going to take our Lead Number, do a bit of math and return a number in a range we specify. The “3” in the formula above means that it will return a number of 1, 2, or 3. This quick Lead View shows
how the formula is taking our Lead Number field and creating a Round Robin ID.
For example if you change the “3” in the MOD formula to “5” you’ll get a result of either 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 for your Round Robin ID.
Now that we have a method to tag each Lead with a Round Robin ID (number), we can leverage this in a Lead Assignment Rule by going to Setup > App Setup > Customize > Leads > Lead Assignment Rules, then click the “New” button.
On the next screen give your Lead Assignment Rule a name and click the Active checkbox and click “Save” as in the screenshot below:
On the next screen click on the Rule Name
Then click the “New” button to start entering rules.
Step 1: Sort Order: 1
Step 2:
- Field: Lead: Round Robin ID
- Operator: equals
- Value: 1
Step 3: Select the User to be assigned the Lead and (optionally) select an email template to notify the new owner they have just been assigned a Lead. There is an “out of the box” email template called “Leads: New assignment notification (SAMPLE)” that comes with Salesforce that is usually stored in the “Unfiled Public Email Templates” folder.
Create a rule for each rep that needs to be assigned a Lead based on our Round Robin ID. The Sort Order is the order in which the rules are evaluated.
How does Sort Order come into play?
When you have a set of assignment rules, Salesforce evaluates the rule in the order you specify (i.e. the Sort Order). Salesforce checks the Lead record against the first rule (Sort Order 1), and if the criteria is a match, Salesforce reassigns the Lead to the new Owner. If the Lead record being evaluated does not match the first rule, the Lead assignment rule checks the next rule in the sort order and continues until the criteria makes a match. We’ll expand on how to construct and best practices on Assignment Rules in a later blog post.
When you are finished, you’ll have a rule for each person that you want assigned a lead.
TIP: If you want one person to get a certain percentage of Leads, let’s say 60%, you could change your MOD formula to give you ten results. Then on your assignment rule your rule would look something like this:
That’s it!
If you want to manually test your rule, make sure your page layout has the checkbox “Assign using active assignment rules” displayed. If not, add it to your page layout:
Check that box and save the Lead record. Viola! Your lead should be reassigned based on the rules you have in place.
Similar thing can be done with the help of flow in order to automate the owner assignment process.
Step 1: Add a decision and add a condition to check if the custom formula field Round Robin that we create returns 1.
Step 2: Add the else condition to next round robin decision to Round Robin 2 decision which contains Round Robin result 2.
Do the same for next Round Robin user for 3rd Assignment…
You can do as many round robin assignment and update owner accordingly as per requirement.
Benefits of Round Robin Assignment
The advantages of employing a round robin assignment rule are multifaceted. Beyond fostering fairness and balance, it also enhances efficiency by automating the lead distribution process. Manual lead assignment is not only time-consuming but prone to errors and inconsistencies. By automating this task, businesses can save valuable time and ensure that leads are assigned swiftly and accurately.
Furthermore, a round robin rule can significantly boost team morale. Knowing that leads are being distributed fairly can reduce feelings of favoritism or inequality, leading to a more cohesive and motivated team. This, in turn, can translate into better performance, as team members are more likely to engage fully with their tasks when they feel valued and treated equitably.
Additionally, round robin assignment can improve lead response times. By ensuring that each team member receives a manageable number of leads, it becomes easier for them to respond promptly, increasing the likelihood of converting leads into customers.
Summary
The round robin assignment rule is a powerful tool for ensuring fairness and efficiency in lead distribution. By automating the process, businesses can eliminate bias, improve response times, and create a more motivated and balanced team. While there may be challenges to overcome, with careful implementation and ongoing performance monitoring, the round robin rule can become an integral part of a successful lead management strategy.
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